North Carolina Health Officials Are Monitoring Wastewater For COVID-19 by April Laissle
5:08pm May 24, 2021 State health officials say the wastewater monitoring program allows researchers to test an entire community at once and can reveal trends well before they’re found through individual testing. RICK BOWMER/AP
North Carolina’s Department of Health and Human Services is now including information about wastewater monitoring on its dashboard of COVID-19 data.
Some people infected with COVID-19 shed the virus through feces, and it’s possible to detect those particles by monitoring wastewater.
That’s why the state of North Carolina has been testing sewage at several wastewater treatment facilities since January. The program allows health officials to look at an entire community at once and can reveal trends well before they’re found through individual testing.
Firstly, the most important thing to do is follow your state health department’s advice.
Fragments of the virus that causes COVID-19 were found in the Allambie Heights sewage network in Sydney, via samples taken on April 22 and April 26. Fragments were also detected in the Marrickville sewage network (via a sample taken May 3).
According to NSW Health, people in those areas should monitor for symptoms and “if you have even the mildest of symptoms (even if it appears to be a cold), get tested and self-isolate immediately.”
Viral fragments were also recently detected in Melbourne sewage.
But when it comes to wastewater monitoring for COVID-19, there’s a lot of probability involved. It doesn’t necessarily mean someone in your suburb definitely has COVID.